Thankfulness 3.1

As I have reflected and thought about the upcoming holiday, an elephant sized question crossed my mind: Have I lived up to the challenge I was exposed to a year ago? Here it is.

“Gratitude is to be the natural and daily expression of my life as follower of Christ.”

Have I done it? Have I lived that way this past twelve months? Oh I hope and pray I have. REFLECT with me for a moment or two on the last twelve months…here are some of the happenings in our lives: Good health…A new granddaughter…Godly provision…

Sold our house in a down market…

          Without pride I can honestly say my response to each of these was THANK YOU LORD!!! I did OK, but I wonder…even though I do not know what the next twelve months will hold can I take my gratitude up a notch? Can I be MORE THANKFUL?

In the 1850’s in Germany, a word was coined/created…it is the word “WORLDVIEW.” Jack Martin Leith defines it for us… “A WORLDVIEW is the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world; a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by the individual. A WORLDVIEW is like an operating system in a computer, controlling operations BEHIND THE SCENES but mostly OUTSIDE the user’s awareness. When someone UPGRADES their WORLDVIEW certain things that were previously impossible become possible, and some things that were difficult become easy.”

                   WOW! I like that! Consider this…what if we were to UPGRADE our worldview in regards to thankfulness? What might that look like? Before I go there, I think there is at least one assumption that we will have to concede…for the sake of our conversation. We will need to assume that we are living according to a BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW. If we are then that simply means…

                             I acknowledge God as the ONE TRUE GOD above whom there is no other.

                             I accept scripture as God’s word and that it is the RULE OF FAITH AND PRACTICE.

                             I believe that Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to know God and His sacrifice for mans greatest need (sin) is complete.

                             I value life as God VALUES LIFE as scripture reveals it.

                             I embrace a Biblical ETHIC and MORALITY and live my life accordingly.

                                      While this is an overly simplistic definition…it will suffice for our conversation.

BTW, this idea of UPGRADING should be very familiar to us all by now…

          We no longer have TV’s with tubes…

          Mobile phone the size of our laptops…

          Or Commodore 64 PC’s…

         

Here’s my point…when I speak of UPGRADING, I am encouraging us to look at our BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW and to be sure that THANKFULNESS is an “overall perspective from which we see and interpret the world.” It would be my desire that OVERFLOWING THANKFULNESS would be a driving influence of my BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW!! That I would take what I learned and practiced this year and move it from say…3.0 to 3.1 for the year ahead of me! I believe I can do that.

The Apostle Paul wrote, “Always giving thanks to God for everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Ephesians 5:20)

Wouldn’t it be great if this always in everything THANKFULNESS permeated our hearts, minds, spirits, bodies, lives, decisions, beliefs, and our actions! At least three things will need to happen:

          First, we need to recognize the source of THANKFULNESS. It’s God!

          Second, THANKFULNESS needs to become our “instinctive” way we face life.

          Third, we will not allow circumstances to dictate our level of THANKFULNESS!

So, if it is an upgrade I need than I am ready to receive it. What about you?

From me to you and from mine to yours… HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!